The US Open grand slam will offer the biggest prize fund in tennis history, with a total of $108 million on offer at this year’s edition.
This marks a 20% increase on the 2025 tournament amid recent protests from players regarding compensation.
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The singles champions will receive $5.5 million each in a 10% increase on last year.
First-round losers will take home $140,000 – which is $30,000 and 27% more than 2025. The United States Tennis Association (USTA) claims this is a grand slam record for first-round payouts. The 2026 US Open begins on 30 August.
The prize pool also includes a $2 million contribution to a welfare fund, which leading players have been demanding from all the grand slams.
Player representatives had asked each major to contribute $4 million in benefit payments this year. The USTA is the first to ring-fence this money for the players, but it will come out of the overall prize fund.
In recent months, players have been demanding a larger slice of the revenue from the grand slams in line with what they receive at ATP and WTA events.
This includes top men’s and women’s players such as Jannik Sinner and Aryna Sabalenka, who limited media appearances at the French Open and Wimbledon to 15 minutes to highlight their grievances.
Their other main demand is for each grand slam to dedicate 16% of its revenue to prize money, with the figure rising to 22% by 2030.
The US Open may have become the first major to hit that target, although the USTA has not released its financial figures for 2025. The USTA will publish its financial statement before the start of the main draw.
USTA chief executive Craig Tiley, who previously headed up Tennis Australia, described the offer as “a significant first step in a multi-year investment in athletes.”
The payout structure was revealed shortly after the sport's four major tournaments announced the creation of a Grand Slam Player Council that is intended to give players a voice on a range of issues like prize money.
It will launch after the US Open “with a focus on player input into sporting matters at the four Grand Slam tournaments.”
The exact framework is yet to be decided, but players have been invited to apply and told the council will allow them to discuss specific prize money concerns directly with the Grand Slam in question.
A statement issued on behalf of the players said: “These steps represent important progress in the ongoing conversations between players and the US Open over the past 18 months.
“This is a substantial increase in prize money. While this is not yet tied to an agreed revenue-sharing formula, players remain committed to that principle and will continue to work with each of the Grand Slams toward that goal.
“Players look forward to building on today's positive announcements and ensuring the Council develops into a genuinely representative and effective forum for player consultation, while continuing to work through their representatives on prize money and player welfare.”
The Wimbledon Grand Slam also increased prize money by 20% for this year’s edition. The total prize fund was £64.2 million ($87.7 million), following the largest annual increase in the event’s history. Overall prize money increased by £10.7 million.
The men’s ATP Tour launched a profit-sharing program in 2022 as part of an overall strategic plan called OneVision.
Through OneVision, players and tournaments split a 50-50 share in profits from top-tier ATP Masters 1000 tournaments.
This plan also sees prize money increase by 2.5% each year at the Masters 1000 events.
The profit-sharing deal, as well as the overall OneVision plan, will run for 30 years until 2053.
